The present invention relates to a device for transporting randomly arranged incoming products in equally-spaced in-line manner.
Here and hereinafter, the term "in-line" is intended to mean that the products received in randomly arranged manner are equally spaced as they travel along a path involving substantially no or, conversely, substantially continuous variations in the output as compared with the input traveling direction of the products.
The present invention is particularly suitable for packing machines in general, and cigarette packing machines in particular, to which the following description refers purely by way of example.
On cigarette packing machines, the problem of transporting randomly arranged incoming products, in this case packets of cigarettes, in equally-spaced manner is normally solved using devices comprising a first and second conveyor perpendicular to each other; and a transfer device located over the point at which the two conveyors meet, and which provides, at a constant rate, for transferring the packets traveling in randomly arranged manner on the first conveyor from the output end of the first conveyor to the input end of the second conveyor. As they are transferred, the packets are rotated 90.degree. in relation to the traveling direction, so that, if they are traveling, for example, along the first conveyor with the larger side facing forward, they are fed with the smaller side or the end surface facing forward along the second conveyor.
In other words, on known devices of the aforementioned type, equally spacing the randomly arranged incoming packets necessarily involves a 90.degree. variation in the traveling direction of the packets, and, consequently, 90.degree. rotation of the packets in relation to said traveling direction.
Such variations in both the traveling direction and the position of the randomly arranged incoming products in relation to the traveling direction are not always desirable, and pose serious problems as regards the size and overall design of the packing machine.